Yes indeed, the experiment should be conducted outdoors. Children, do not try this at home.

Funny at the end he says silver nitrate is $40 for 100g. Ah, the good old days.

07-02-2012, 08:01 PM

inlarry

So how much does the cathode system run, as far as purchase price?

Quote:

Originally Posted by jnanian

hi inlarry

on the cathode it is 99% silver flake (from what i understand),

so you can ... you can hoard it, sell it to jewelers, or do whatever you want with it ...
i know of some folks that just save it, and when the spot price of silver climbs, they send it to be refined ..
the refiners that are "lined up" to help with the magnet, don't charge minimums &c so there are no
extra costs, you can have it refined locally if you want ( or find a waste hauler to take it ) but i don't know
what sort of payment they will offer ...

the trickle tanks ... i think there is more than just silver flake on
the bits of steel wool/iron &c, but i am not really sure ...

07-02-2012, 08:19 PM

jnanian

the magnet is 56$ + 14 shipping in the usa
outside of the usa the shipping is more.
replacement cathodes cost 22$ + shipping

thanks for your interest !
john

07-02-2012, 08:48 PM

inlarry

Wow, that's actually a lot less than I expected. How does this unit work? Does it sit in a tank you dump your chemicals into, or does it actually sit in your trays during use, or is it some other method? Up til now I've always just dumped mine down the drain, but with the current spot price of silver I'm starting to think, that at this price, it may be worth my time to recover. I understand the recovered product is 99% pure, is that true?

Quote:

Originally Posted by jnanian

the magnet is 56$ + 14 shipping in the usa
outside of the usa the shipping is more.
replacement cathodes cost 22$ + shipping

thanks for your interest !
john

07-04-2012, 10:16 PM

jnanian

Quote:

Originally Posted by inlarry

Wow, that's actually a lot less than I expected. How does this unit work? Does it sit in a tank you dump your chemicals into, or does it actually sit in your trays during use, or is it some other method? Up til now I've always just dumped mine down the drain, but with the current spot price of silver I'm starting to think, that at this price, it may be worth my time to recover. I understand the recovered product is 99% pure, is that true?

hi inlarry

the best way to use the silver magnet is the 2 fix bath method. use a clip of film and time how long it takes
your unused fixer to clear the film. double that time for your total film fix time ( prints need to be fixed for the manufacturer's recommendation )
so that means the clear time for 1 bath, and the same time for bath 2.
when it takes double the original test time to clear the film clip your fixer is ready to de-silver. make a new fresh bath for #2, the old #2 becomes #1 and keep an eye on it ...

they say you can keep re-using the fixer after you de-silver it, but i have never done that so i can't really recommend that ...
you submerge the silver magnet in a non metal* tank/tray whatever you want to de-silver in ( a plastic dollar store shoe box works great )
and when the light changes from dim to bright you are done ... you can keep an eye on the cathode when it plates dark-stuff you are done.
there is still about 50 parts/ million silver in the de-silvered fixer. you can run it through steel wool or aluminum foil or copper flashing or whatever you want
to get the rest of the silver gone, and dispose of the spent fixer according to your local regulations.
i also sell trickle tanks to remove the rest of the silver ( in your fixer ) from your waste stream. it will de-silver your wash water and the fixer already put
through the magnet ( the magnet / electrolytic unit is for high concentrations of silver, the trickle tanks/ion transfer is for low concentrations ) used with
the magnet they last for 1000 or 2000 gallons of fixer/or wash water ...

its best not to dump fixer down the drain, the silver kills the beneficial bacteria in sewer plants and septic systems will corrode your pipes and end up
in your garden or well or ? ..

yup they say 99% pure ... the 1% probably accounts for black stuff you might get on your cathode when you leave it on too long ...

let me know if i can be of any more help !
john

07-05-2012, 09:32 PM

inlarry

Alright, my question actually stemmed from looking at the website you've got for this stuff, it'd mentioned just sitting it in your fix tray to prolong the life of the fix, which isn't a huge concern for me I just wasn't sure how well that aspect actually worked in the real world.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jnanian

hi inlarry

the best way to use the silver magnet is the 2 fix bath method. use a clip of film and time how long it takes
your unused fixer to clear the film. double that time for your total film fix time ( prints need to be fixed for the manufacturer's recommendation )
so that means the clear time for 1 bath, and the same time for bath 2.
when it takes double the original test time to clear the film clip your fixer is ready to de-silver. make a new fresh bath for #2, the old #2 becomes #1 and keep an eye on it ...

they say you can keep re-using the fixer after you de-silver it, but i have never done that so i can't really recommend that ...
you submerge the silver magnet in a non metal* tank/tray whatever you want to de-silver in ( a plastic dollar store shoe box works great )
and when the light changes from dim to bright you are done ... you can keep an eye on the cathode when it plates dark-stuff you are done.
there is still about 50 parts/ million silver in the de-silvered fixer. you can run it through steel wool or aluminum foil or copper flashing or whatever you want
to get the rest of the silver gone, and dispose of the spent fixer according to your local regulations.
i also sell trickle tanks to remove the rest of the silver ( in your fixer ) from your waste stream. it will de-silver your wash water and the fixer already put
through the magnet ( the magnet / electrolytic unit is for high concentrations of silver, the trickle tanks/ion transfer is for low concentrations ) used with
the magnet they last for 1000 or 2000 gallons of fixer/or wash water ...

its best not to dump fixer down the drain, the silver kills the beneficial bacteria in sewer plants and septic systems will corrode your pipes and end up
in your garden or well or ? ..

yup they say 99% pure ... the 1% probably accounts for black stuff you might get on your cathode when you leave it on too long ...

let me know if i can be of any more help !
john

07-17-2012, 08:21 PM

jnanian

hi larry

from what i have been told by someone who has used / re-used de-silver fix .. he said that
he would trust it for his first bath, but use un-desilvered fix for his second bath.
i have never done this, but i guess it can be done ...

07-17-2012, 09:30 PM

Prof_Pixel

Reuse of electrolytically desilvered fixer

Silver ions are reduced at the cathode (the desired reaction); however, something must be oxidized at the anode (depending on conditions this might be thiosulfate complex or sulfite ions). This means desilvered fixer is not the same as fresh fixer.